We define a preschool service as a structured, play-based learning program, delivered by a degree-qualified early childhood teacher, aimed primarily at children in the year before they commence full-time schooling. Preschool services are also known as kindergartens, child and parent centres, and early learning centres.

ELSA conducted an expression of interest (EOI) process in 2017 for the 2018 Pilot. We received an overwhelming amount of interest and more than 880 applications. We selected 100 pilot centres from the EOI submissions for the 2018 Pilot.

For the 2019 pilot, some centres will be continuing and some new centres will be selected from the EOI submission list.

We are currently not accepting submissions from preschool services to take part in ELSA.

Not at all. ELSA is all about STEM concepts and practices. Educators already adopt this approach by encouraging children to ask questions, make predictions, try things, and reflect on what happened and why.

By participating in the pilot, educators and families will find new ways for children to engage with STEM concepts and practices.

ELSA uses apps to create meaningful opportunities for children to explore rich digital learning environments. However, the ELSA apps are only one third of the overall program.

Children are expected to spend a maximum of 40 minutes per week engaging with the ELSA apps. This is likely to occur across multiple shorter sessions, and is consistent with screen time guidelines from the Australian Government.

The ELSA apps have been carefully designed with early childhood experts to support active play.

We take privacy seriously. The privacy of all participants – including children, educators and families – will be protected when participating in the ELSA Pilot.

For example, data on app usage will be collected to help us improve the program. This data will be stored securely on Australian servers. If you have any questions about privacy, please contact us at team@elsa.edu.au.

2019 Technical FAQ

Information to help educators use the ELSA apps

Enter your mobile number (make sure you use the same mobile number you provided to ELSA initially, as this is connected to your account).

On the ‘Sign in to ELSA’ screen, tap ‘Forgot your password?’

On the ‘Reset Password’ screen, enter a new password. Then touch ‘Update password’.

A verification code will be sent to the mobile number you entered.

Enter the verification code on the ‘Verify your phone number’ screen.

Touch ‘Get started’.

Note: if you do not remember your mobile number, or have new accounts that are not already linked to ELSA, please call our support team on 1800 931 042. We will need to set up your new details to give you access.

Privacy is important to us. To keep your preschool service’s information secure, we keep a list of approved staff at each centre.

To add someone to the list, please fill out a support form or call the ELSA team on 1800 931 042 and provide:

your preschool service’s name

the educator’s name

the educator’s mobile number and/or email address, so they can verify their account.

We will double-check your request with our primary contact at the preschool service before adding a new educator to the list. This process can take up to a week. Once the new team member is added, we will notify them via their mobile number or email address.

The ELSA apps are designed to support each child’s unique progression by offering certain tasks and activities once they are ready to work through various levels of complexity. So it’s a better experience for the children if they play using their own profile.

You can reduce the likelihood that a child will accidentally use someone else’s player profile by supervising children at the start of each session. This is when the apps will prompt children to make sure their picture is selected before playing.

The ELSA Families app does not contain session data. However, if parents or legal guardians want to know how much time their child is spending on ELSA each week, this information is available via each child’s profile in the Educator app.

We encourage educators to share ELSA content that children have created with their families.

Follow these steps to see how long each child has spent on the ELSA apps for children:

In the Educator app, tap to the ‘Children’ tab in the main menu at the bottom of the screen.

Tap the profile picture of the relevant child to view their details.

Under the child’s profile image is a list of activities that relate to each of the children’s apps. For example, App 1: Patterns and Relationships is listed first. On the right side of screen, the time spent during the current week and total time spent for each app is listed.

To see how much time has been spent on each of the four activities within an app, tap on the activity icon (e.g. Lunch boxes) and select the ‘History; menu in the top right.

Ask our support team at ELSA. We are ready to assist you with any STEM questions. Call 1800 931 042 or get in touch via our support page.

If you want advice from other educators in the pilot, you might like to try posting your question in the Messages section of the Educator app. Your question can be read by all the educators in the pilot, and some may be able to help you. You need to have WiFi switched on to use Messages.

You can edit a child’s profile via the Educator app or the children’s apps. We’ve explained each method below.

In the Educator app

Tap the ‘Children’ tab in the main menu at the bottom of the screen.

Tap the profile picture of the relevant child to view their details.

Tap ‘Edit’ in the top left of the profile to make changes.

You can update the following details in the Educator app: child’s name, month and year of birth, child’s class, allow data sharing (on/off), allow photos to be used (on/off), and delete profile.

When you have finished, tap ‘Done’ in the top left of the profile or ‘Cancel’ in the top right to discard changes.
When you have finished, tap ‘Done’ in the top left of the profile or ‘Cancel’ in the top right to discard changes.

In the children’s apps

Tap the ‘Educators’ tab at the bottom of the screen on the main menu of the children’s app. You can access the educator settings by responding to a simple addition question.

In the educator settings, select ‘Edit children details’.

You can edit ‘Name’ and ‘Appearance’. The image choices for ‘Appearance’ are: child’s initials, animal avatar or a photo.

Once you have made changes, tap the back arrow button and changes will be saved.

When you first log in to one of the ELSA children’s apps, you will be guided through three steps to give access to the camera, microphone and camera roll. On each screen touch ‘Grant Permission’. Then touch ‘OK’ on the pop-up windows.

If you accidentally touch ‘Don’t Allow’ on one of the pop-up windows, or need to update permissions later on, follow the steps below.

iPad

Go to the main menu screen of the children’s app.

Tap the button at the bottom of the screen that says ‘Educators’.

Answer the math question to get access.

Locate the ‘Permission Settings’ section and tap the ‘Settings’ button.

Locate the Microphone and Camera icons on the right side of the screen.

Move each button to the right to allow access.

Tap the Photos icon.

Select ‘Read and Write’ (this gives access to the camera roll).

Android

Go to the main menu screen of the children’s app.

Tap the button at the bottom of screen that says ‘Educators’.

Answer the math question to get access.

Locate the ‘Permission Settings’ section and tap the ‘Settings’ button.

Locate the ELSA app in the list of apps on the right side of the screen.

Tap the ELSA app.

Move the ‘Camera’, ‘Microphone’ and ‘Storage’ (photos) buttons to the right to allow access.

Check that the child is assigned to the correct group/class. If they are not, tap ‘change’ and follow the prompts.

Choose an option for how to identify a child with an avatar image. We suggest using a photo of a personal artefact (such as a their backpack or a favourite toy) that is easily recognised by the child. Alternatively, you can use one of the preset ELSA animal symbols or default to the child’s initials.
When you have finished, tap ‘Done’ in the top right corner of the screen.

At present you can only view some content created by children in your group. To do this, go to the Educator app, select the Children tab, then navigate and find the child’s profile. Tap on the child and then choose a particular activity to view. Then select the tab ‘User Generated Content’.

Now that we have introduced the ‘Achievements’ tab for the 2019 Pilot, we are currently working on re-integrating some functionality into the new-look child’s profile in the Educator app so that educators can see more content created by children. Stay tuned for updates.

Early Learning STEM Australia has been developed by the University of Canberra, through funding provided by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training under the National Innovation and Science Agenda. Read our privacy policy.